Cardinal George has cancer surgery, second operation to stop bleeding

Cardinal George has cancer surgery, second operation to stop bleeding

By Michelle Martin
Catholic News Service

CHICAGO (CNS) -- After five hours of surgery to remove his cancerous bladder July 27, Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George was brought back into the operating room late that night to repair a small blood vessel in his pelvis that was bleeding.

A notice from his medical team July 28 said, "Although the episode of postoperative bleeding represents a complication ... it is not an unusual occurrence and is not expected to have a significant impact on Cardinal George's recovery."

The notice was posted on www.luhs.org -- the Web site of Loyola University Medical Center, where the surgery took place.

The second surgery, which began shortly before midnight, lasted two hours, the notice said. It said Dr. Robert Flanigan, who conducted the first surgery, also did the second with the assistance of Dr. Fred Luchette, chief of Loyola's Surgical Intensive Care Unit.

It said the decision to return to the operating room was prompted by signs of unstable blood pressure and a drop in blood count even though the cardinal had received blood transfusions.

After the bleeding was stopped, "the cardinal stabilized," it said. "He tolerated the operation well and is resting comfortably this morning." The medical team has promised to post daily updates on the Web regarding the cardinal's condition.

Cardinal George, who is also vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is 69 years old.In the first surgery doctors said they removed the cardinal's entire bladder, his prostate gland and a portion of the right ureter, a tube from the right kidney to the bladder, to which the cancer had begun to spread."

I'm happy to report good news," Jesuit Father Myles Sheehan, a specialist in geriatric care, professor at the medical center and Cardinal George's personal physician, told reporters at a news briefing following that surgery. "We are hopeful for the best possible result." [Entire Story]

You can send Cardinal George your prayers and get well messages here. Let us continue to keep His Eminence in our prayers.

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